Stood Up
by WildFireWriter222
Summary: Lucy was just about ready to celebrate her first anniversary when her date doesn't even show. But what will happen when a certain someone decides to intervene and take matters into his own hands? Rated T for like two swear words (bc you can never be to careful). One-shot based on a post I saw


_A/N: Hey! So here is my actual first fanfic. I had posted this a while ago but now I feel like I should post this here :3 This one is a bit fluffier than Catalyst so maybe it will make you a bit happier :D. Sorry if Natsu or Lucy are a bit OOC; it was my first fic. Thanks for reading!_

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It was about an hour after she got to the restaurant that she realized he wasn't coming. After all of that talk about making their anniversary something special, Loke hadn't even the nerve to show up.

She'd already been through three glasses of water and was honestly considering ordering something a bit stronger just for the hell of it. She could go for a nice lemonade or something...her sweet tooth certainly wouldn't mind. Her stomach refused to stop growling. She'd ordered three trays of calamari already but she couldn't bring herself to order a meal. Yes, she was getting annoyed but there was still a part of her that told her that he was coming even though she knew full well that he was probably off somewhere flirting the night away.

"That little...," she grumbled. "When I get my hands on his scrawny little neck, I'm going to-"

She was interrupted by the now all too familiar clacking of her waitress's heels that headed her way...again.

"Are you ready to order yet, ma'am?" the silver haired waitress asked for about the fourth time. She clutched a serving tray under her armpit and lifted her notebook from her apron. She didn't look particularly annoyed by the long wait. She was smiling for god sake, which was the farthest from anything Lucy was feeling at that moment.

She took a deep breath and plastered one of her fakest, most painful smiles on her face.

"I'm sure he's just running a bit late. He should be here anytime now," she responded, fingering the silk napkin on her lap.

The waitress, Mira (according to her name tag), blinked. She no doubt had caught on that Lucy's date, in fact, was _not_ going to be here tonight but she smiled anyway.

"Oh! Ok then. I'll be back in a little bit to check on you, ok?"

Lucy nodded and turned her head back to the wooden table. She reached for her glass of water before she remembered.

"Hey wait! Mira!" she called before the waitress was out of earshot. "Could you actually bring me a lemonade? This water is a little boring."

Mira giggled.

"Sure thing!"

Lucy reached for her water again, this time with every intention of actually drinking it. Her eyes lifted to scan the room. An orchestra accompanied the harmony of hushed conversation and clatter of silverware on fine china. The posh guests sat with their backs as straight and poised as trees yet were unaffected by the relaxing melody of the piano. Lucy slumped in her seat and fondled her chewed up white straw. Her legs crossed, then uncrossed, then crossed again, accidently kicking the table stand in the process.

People watching was actually pretty interesting. Especially when you're awkwardly sitting at a table for two alone.

To be honest, Lucy couldn't blame them. Many of them had never tasted high quality dining before unlike her who was practically raised on the stuff. Her father felt it necessary to treat her to the "finest Fiore had to offer" or something. She couldn't care less. If eating at nice restaurants meant not seeing her dad as much, she would be willing to starve.

She sighed and scanned the room again. Her eyes latched onto a couple sitting a few tables away. The thing that had caught her attention in the first place was the abnormal light blue shade of the woman's hair. But her attention held when she saw the way they looked at each other. Not only was the blue haired girl sitting with her face cupped between her hands like a corny romance movie but the guy was basically doing the same thing. Well, not the whole cupping-his-chin thing but he certainly was giving her puppy dog eyes. Lucy laughed under her breath. He was trying to do the whole "oh I'm not interested but I'll humor you" kind of thing but she could see the way he couldn't keep his eyes off of his partner.

Something inside her ached, longing for something as loving as that. She'd always dreamed of finding that perfect someone and settling down for the rest of her life. She just completely forgot about the whole trial-and-error process that was dating. Somehow, she found herself right in the middle of a relationship with one of those errors.

She shook her head and continued her journey around the restaurant. Her eyes stopped when they were matched by another pair of staring eyes. She blinked and cocked an eyebrow. The couple looked each other before giving her a sad smile.

Lucy flinched. Were they feeling sorry for her for being stood up? It was bad enough that she was beating herself up over it but now she was getting pity from strangers? She groaned and slipped deeper into her seat. She sighed and dropped her eyes to the candle in front of her. It's orange glow flickered off the bars of the small gold bird cage surrounding it. A bead of wax began its molasses like decent down the side of the tall candle, ending its journey abruptly as it hardened before reaching the bottom.

Lucy groaned as she pressed her forehead to the starched tablecloth. This was going to be a long night if he didn't show up soon.

Another hour passed and Lucy was done waiting. She had already spammed his phone to a point where she was sure her own would spaz out and had tried calling him. Nothing. Just rang for a bit before going to voicemail.

She clenched the fist holding her phone, ignoring the fact that it was probably going to shatter if she squeezed any tighter.

"If I ever see that dumbass again, I'm going to kill him," she said under her breath.

It didn't exactly help that more couples were joining the first group in sending her the not-so subtle pity glances. Everytime she looked up, she'd be greeted by another annoying date that felt bad for her. She didn't need their pity. She already felt bad enough as it was.

She huffed.

"Alright well fine. If he thinks he can stand me up, he's got another thing coming," she muttered.

She snatched her purse from the floor and made a move to slide out of the small booth was sitting in.

"Leaving already? But I just got here," said a deep scratchy voice behind her.

She turned to come face to face with a random guy with spiky pink hair. What was with these people and weird hair colors?

The pink haired man scooted around her and made his way to the other side of the booth.

"Sorry I'm late, babe. Traffic was awful," he announced to the surrounding couples.

Lucy blinked. Who was this guy? And why did he call her babe?

The onlookers threw themselves into busy conversation with one another, acting as if nothing happened. Lucy huffed. These people absolutely sucked at subtlty.

She turned back to the stranger. His tan skin brought out the warmth of his deep red undershirt and his crisp clean suit allowed this strange man to blend in almost seamlessly to the posh atmosphere. Had his hair not been pink nor his eyes an intense gray, she would have been none the wiser.

The man gestured to the seat across from him, a crooked grin sliding onto his face. Before she could sit down all the way, he leaned in. Lucy caught the almost faded scent of a wood burning fireplace and something that vaguely reminded her of a thick forest.

"The name's Natsu. Just go with it," he suggested.

This random guy, Natsu he said his name was, just decided to sit down across from her because her date bailed? Not only that, but he _pretended_ to be her date. Huh. Lucy grinned.

"What made you want to 'be my boyfriend'?" she asked with air quotations before he could pull away.

His smirk grew and a devilish glint shined in his eye.

"Dunno. You looked pretty dumb all by yourself over here," he confessed.

She knew she should have been offended. That kind of comment from anyone would offend her. Yet she couldn't prevent the bubbling laugh that escaped her lips at his goofy smile.

"Ok...umm...I have three siblings, I have a dog, and I live in a mansion," Lucy deadpanned.

She bit her lip in an almost failed attempt to hold back one of the many giggles she let loose that night. Natsu grinned at the sound. He had heard it so many times that night and found that the melody was slowly growing on him. He wouldn't mind if he heard it some more.

Natsu squeezed his eyes shut, dramatically pretending to think. He lifted his fingers to stroke his imaginary beard while the other grasped Lucy's small hand.

They made their way down a small side street, past the chaos and pollution of the highway. Many of the different mom and pop stores on either side of them had turned their lights off and closed for the night, giving the near empty street a calm, more intimate feeling. Natsu looked up to the various constellations visible in the night sky. Despite the smog and light pollution from the city a few miles away, Magnolia somehow possessed the ability to clearly display all that the night sky had to offer. That and in distracting himself from his racing heart and sweaty palm that held the hand of one of the prettiest girls he had ever seen.

"Hmm...you can't possibly live in a mansion. That's got to be a lie," he offered. "Yes. Mansion. Final answer."

Lucy released her laugh and squeezed his hand. Natsu glanced down at her before slowly letting his own chuckle go.

"Nope! I actually live in a mansion. Just over that hill, actually." She pointed to a giant hill that rose at the end of the street. "I do not have any siblings."

Natsu jumped back, releasing her hand. His mouth dropped.

"You live in a _mansion_?! That's so cool!" he gushed.

"Hey, you live near all of the shops _and_ you can walk there," she commented, poking a finger into his chest.

Natsu paused, contemplating Lucy's statement.

"Touché," he said.

They walked a bit further, continuing their game of two truths and a lie. In that time, Lucy had learned that Natsu had a blue cat, a little sister, worked in a glass blower shop, and that he won the regional championship wrestling tournament in high school. That one probably shocked her the most. She couldn't believe that someone as lean as Natsu would be able to win a wrestling match, let alone the championship.

She took another two steps before stopping in front of her new black car. She turned back to Natsu when he didn't say anything.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me? Your place isn't all that far from here and you really wouldn't be putting me out," she tried again.

Natsu clutched his stomach at the thought of riding in a car.

"Nah, it's ok," he groaned. "I think the fresh air would do me good. Being inside that stuffy old restaurant was making me feel all claustrophobic."

He shuddered dramatically.

Lucy couldn't help but giggle again. In the short time that she had known him, Natsu had managed to make her laugh more than she had in the past month. Not even Loke could achieve a handful of snickers from her. She gripped the door handle and pulled it open.

"Hey, thanks for the save earlier. I really appreciate it," she said, a genuine smile finding its way onto her face.

Natsu's face warmed and he stuffed his shaking hands into his jean pockets. He shifted his gaze to the cobblestone sidewalk. He shouldn't be this nervous around a girl he just met. Granted, he never did well around pretty girls but that was beside the point.

"Y-yeah. Don't m-mention it," he stuttered.

Lucy beamed up at him. He stared back, his eyes catching on the way the starlight, though billions of miles away, sparkled and lit up her rosy skin. He saw way her eyes crinkled when she smiled, the few freckles that peppered the edges of her face and seemed to disappear when her blonde hair fell past her ear. He saw the way her rich chocolate eyes shimmered when she talked about her writings or when he made her laugh. Tonight was probably the most fun he had in a long time and it was all because some idiot stood her up. He was completely baffled by how someone could do that, to her of all people. The more he had talked to her, the more he got to know her and appreciate her for her little quirks and the beauty that he saw in absolutely every part that she showed him. Some people are just so blind that they don't see the beauty right under their noses.

Lucy coughed, pulling him back to reality. Oh crap. He'd been staring again.

"So...it was nice to meet-"

"Willyougooutwithme?" he interrupted, jumbling his words together.

Lucy blinked up at him.

"C-can you repeat that?" she asked. She's pretty sure she knew what he said but she just wanted to be sure.

Natsu took a deep breath before looking Lucy straight in the eyes.

"Would you be willing to go out with me? On, like, an actual date? Where no one is stood up?" he tried again, a nervous smile sliding across his lips.

Lucy paused before her face broke into an abnormally large grin.

"Of course," she responded. "I'd love to go out with you."


End file.
